The title stands for itself. I know most games only run on Windows and mac is assumed to be best for artistic needs (I don't understand why), and Ubuntu is just something in between but not widely used. What makes a significant difference between different Os's. To me they're just skins and atm Windows is the only one with access to such a wide range of games.
Could someone please enlighten me on this subject and fill me in on what makes each OS unique and what benefits each offers? This has been a frustrating topic for me and I can't seem to find any responses from people other than "Mac is better because it has no viruses and windows crashes"
Most games use DirectX which is Windows only. Some games use OpenGL which is cross platform and will run on Windows, MacOS (BSD), and Ubuntu (Linux).
The "Mac is best for artistic needs" isn't true anymore. Way back in the day software for video, photo, audio editing was best suited for the Mac platform. That's no longer true, but this misnomer has stuck. Mac is still a viable platform, just not better. Also, Mac is just as susceptible to viruses as Windows, there is just less of them as it has a smaller user base. As it's gaining popularity though, more and more viruses and spyware are appearing.
There are many flavors of Linux. They are all based off of the Linux Kernel. Ubuntu is one of these variations. It is open source and free, but not all the software that runs on Linux is the same. My mail server for instance, Zimbra, has both an Open Source free platform and a paid Network Edition. We subscribe to the Network Edition for support, updates, and extra features that aren't available in the free version. Zimbra runs on multiple platforms including Ubuntu, Mac Server, and Red Hat Enterprise which is what I run.
Basically, the OS's all do the same thing in the end. How they get the GUI on screen though is what makes them different. Because of this difference, certain software will run on one but not the other. Depending on what you will be using your Computer or Server for will determine what OS you can run. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Edit: Here's a wiki that explains what a kernel is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(computing)
